Robert,in the pics with the plates on the floor,were they set into the concrete as the floor was poured,and a question about the 2,000lb dumbell pic,what were the end bells made of,or filled with.?

Yes the plates were set in the floor as we poured the concrete. The plates were a mix of brands. Some Zuver's, some bfco, some Paramount, whatever we had laying around. Most were plates that were used in the gym before we had our own Zuver plates cast. RZ

Robert,in the pics with the plates on the floor,were they set into the concrete as the floor was poured,and a question about the 2,000lb dumbell pic,what were the end bells made of,or filled with.?

The Worlds Biggest Dumbbell.This was a pretty big job building this baby. The ball's were made of steel. They were Steel Ocean Buoy's out of the bay of Long Beach Ca. We purchased them from a marine salvage yard. When finished it weighed in right at 2000lbs.

Zuver's Official Greeter.The official Greeter of Zuver's Hall Of Fame Gym for close to 17 Years was a 6ft Dumbbell lifting Gorilla. A little known fact was that to the Zuver family the Greeter was named George. Back then there was a TV cartoon by the name of George Of The Jungle. I'm sure there are some of you that can remember the theme song for the show. George saw and Greeted most everyone big or small that ever walked through our gates. There were two greeter gorilla's. most people didn't know that. One was at the entrance, the other stood on top of the waterfall. Wish I still had him now.

Thanks for the replies Robert,i just love the originality of everything that went into Zuvers gym.The zuverman thats on top of the elephant looks like it was modelled on Roger Callard.I love the idea of using powerful animals in zuvers gym,like the rhino and the gorilla,and i`ve thought if i ever end up completing my own home gym i`d love something like this carving of a silverback gorilla to stand guard at the entrance.

Today marks the three year passing of Dennis Tinerino.May he rest in piece and may god bless his family.RIP

tinnerino was a great goldenage bodybuilder, who originally had the part of hercules in new york, until weider talked them into useing arnold s instead. tinnerino ended up with a bit part in the movie. he was the only bber to win the mr america, mr universe, jr mr a, teenage mr a, and mr usa titles.

tinnerino was a great goldenage bodybuilder, who originally had the part of hercules in new york, until weider talked them into useing arnold s instead. tinnerino ended up with a bit part in the movie. he was the only bber to win the mr america, mr universe, jr mr a, teenage mr a, and mr usa titles.

Well HISTORY OF ZUVER'S GYM LIVES ON THROUGH THE NEW BRICKYARD GYM IN PENNSYLVANIA.IT HAD ITS SOFT OPENING YESTERDAY AND WILL HAVE ITS GRAND OPENING SATERDAY 6/29/2013So far it has had great reviews. Rick and Tammy have done a great job trying to make there gym part old school and part new school so all could enjoy training there. Rick has put up displays of Zuver's History through out the place and has Lil Z (The Original Golden Zuverman Bust) behind the front counter for viewing. The Third Generation Zuver Big One Finger Lift is There And Ready To Try. This Unit Was Built By Me and Given to Rick to display and allow his members a chance to try a piece of Zuver Tradition. The Standing Record is 248lbs. We will see if it can be broken. If so I will Award the New Record Holder a Certificate of Achievement.Stop by and try your Finger at it.

Really enjoy this thread... I'd give up a body part to go back in time for a visit to Zuvers. Real iron history!

~Dave

You would have been extremely welcome. If I had known that Zuvers would become as popular as it is today I would have saved a lot more things from the original gym. I'm thankful pop saved thousands of photos and that's pritty good considering that there weren't much for camaras back then. Still finding things now and then at pops house. I wish everyone could have seen it in its hay day.

I used to train at Zuver Gym back in the early 70s. Bob trained me as a powerlifter and introduced me to a lot of top strength athletes. Zuvers had a great powerlifting team. It was a great atmosphere conducive to great training. I have great memories of those days. I ended up learning from the best and launched a long powerlifting career from the foundation I got a Zuvers Gym. Bob was truly special and one of a kind.

I used to train at Zuver Gym back in the early 70s. Bob trained me as a powerlifter and introduced me to a lot of top strength athletes. Zuvers had a great powerlifting team. It was a great atmosphere conducive to great training. I have great memories of those days. I ended up learning from the best and launched a long powerlifting career from the foundation I got a Zuvers Gym. Bob was truly special and one of a kind.

Don't suppose you have any old pictures of when you were at our Gym???

You probably wouldn't remember me, I was just a nobody who came to you Dad's gym to get strong. I had moved to California and wanted to go to the best "strong man" gym there is, of course, Zuver's Gym. I knew Ricky, you, your dad and mom, and everyone treated me as if I was important. Even though I was a skinny kid, a "wanna be" strong man.

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to get a pair of the Zuver's 50lb. plates, they are among my prized possessions. They aren't in good shape but it doesn't matter. They bring back great memories and are very cool.

I haven't looked closely, but I don't think I have any pictures from those days. I had some but believe they got destroyed in a flood. I still see Rudy Lozano occasionally, he may have some pictures. I'll be glad to ask him.

Although I don't have much contact with him in recent years, however; I was pretty close with Tom Overholtzer for many years. We helped each other at several power meets over the years.

I only recently learned via these boards of the loss of your dad and mom. They were great people and true pioneers in strength sports. I am so glad you are working to tell today's Iron Athletes about your parent's gym and more importantly about them.